[James] has done some work reverse engineering the protocols for the iSee360i peripheral. This iPod addon is a media player housing that features a 3.6″ screen. It can be used to play video on iPods that don’t otherwise have the capability because it just uses them as a hard drive. He picked up the device at a discount chain for $15 and wanted to load his own videos directly from Linux without using the Windows-based software that comes with it. There’s the gotcha; even if you encode a video exactly the same as the device’s example video, it will be deleted the next time you fire up the iSee.

After some trial and error [James] reverse engineered all of the quirky requirements to load video manually. There are strict, case sensitive file naming conventions, every file must have a perfectly formatted thumbnail image, and an index file entry must be made for the video. He’s done the hard work of hammering out the details, now it should be easy to write a Python script to automatically format and copy your pre-encoded videos for use.

[Thijs] has an iPod dock with an LCD display in it that allows you to watch videos without having to squint quite as much. Unfortunately, the iPod classic wouldn’t play videos on it because it’s not an Apple approved product. He figured out that an authentication chip is included in docks and cables that Apple has approved and set out to retrofit his device with one. He pulled the PCB, authentication chip included, out of a $5 cable from Deal Extreme and wired it up to the PCB on his dock. Voila, the dock now plays video.

This is a nice hack but it’s also just silly. You paid for the iPod, you paid for the music and videos (right?), and you paid for the dock. Why can’t they all talk to each other without authentication?

[John Boiles] introduces us to dimlet, his portable network controlled light dimmer. Inside the box is a fonera 2100 router that is running openWRT connected to an unnamed AVR microcontroller. Right now, he’s controlling the unit with his iPhone. It has three modes of control; a manual “slider” mode, an accelerometer controlled “dance” mode, and a programmable “tap” mode. You can download all the source code and schematics on his site.

[via Makezine]

Ever wish your iPod touch or older generation iPhone had GPS capability? Now it can by using a Bluetooth GPS module along with the roqyGPS app.

In April we saw a pretty creative way to add GPS to an iPod by using a homebrew accessory. The new app is a better solution because it utilizes the larger screen and more functional UI of the iPod touch. We’re glad to see this come along because we’d rather not upgrade to the iPhone 3G just to get GPS support. roqyGPS has a fairly long supported hardware list, which should make it relatively inexpensive to pick up a GPS module either on sale or second-hand.

We’ve got a video of the release candidate after the break. As always, we’d like to hear from anyone already using this so please leave your thoughts in the comments.

Last week we saw a rotating iPhone dock built from Lego. This week we’re happy to put up another example of a dock made of these popular building blocks. Thank goodness this one takes into account all of the sudden jolts that our desk is prone to by incorporating shock absorbing springs. The design is very sleek with a jazzy red scheme and a less-is-more attitude. We are a bit concerned about our expensive hand held falling out but then again that’s what the springs are for. Who can be the first to put together a step-by-step guide for building this one?

[via Engadget]

The iPhone doesn’t have the market cornered on the use of accelerometers. The tiltphone project incorporates a three axis accelerometer into a set of headphones transforming them into a remote control for an iPod. A PIC16F690 reads in data from the analog sensor, translates specific movements into commands, and like the Arduino iPod Remote from last week, relays them to an iPod via the Apple Accessory Protocol. A quick nod left or right skips tracks, holding a sideways nod controls the volume, and setting the headphones down pauses.

This project is a bit older but we’re glad [anon] tipped us off as we hadn’t seen it before. There doesn’t seem to be any code or schematics available but because the Apple Accessory Protocol is known, it’s only a matter of working out how to interpret the sensor data. There is video after the break and if you pull off this hack yourself be sure to send in details for a followup.

[Linux4Nano] over at the [Gna! repositories] have just finalized a breakthrough for their bootloader project.  Because the iPod Nano 2G has a hardware encryption chip, it could previously not be flashed with a custom firmware. By digging around in some assembly code (and working their magic) the team was able to get Linux onto the 2G, develop drivers for its peripherals (screen, clickwheel and serial interface are a few), and put all of that code into a package convenient to install by the end user. If you’ve ever considered installing uClinux (the ported distro) on your Nano, the [Linux4Nano] team have made the iLoader an easy place to start.

Hot on the heels of the aluminum dock and the Lego camera mount, [Steve] sent in his iPhone/iPod Touch dock made out of Lego bricks. It’s very stylish with a black and grey theme but we think the function makes this DIY spectacular. In the design [Steve] has included the ability to rotate the cradle so that the iPhone can be presented either vertically or horizontally. A step-by-step guide is not yet available but resourceful Lego lovers should be able to build this using his flickr set.

[David] had an Arduino in search of a project. He decided to make an Arduino powered iPod remote control using an ipod connector breakout board and a 3.3v to 5v level converter (both from SparkFun). The circuit was built on a mini breadboard, controlled by an Arduino Mini, and housed in an Altoids tin. To talk to the iPod the Apple Accessory Protocol is used. With driving in mind [David] connected a Staples Easy Button as the play/pause button. This is a good example of how to interface Arduino with iPod. Using his example code we’d like to see more people working on homemade iPod accessories.